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Legend of 1900, The
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 38 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Allesandro Baricco
Giuseppe Tornatore
Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore
Release Date:
Theatrical: October 29, 1999
DVD: June 4, 2002
Running Time: 123 minutes, Color
Origin: Italy
Summary
RATING: R for language
Starring Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Melanie Thierry, and Bill Nunn
An epic story of a young man (Roth) who is born on January 1, 1900, and thus his name Nineteen Hundred. He grows up always having lived on an ocean liner, becoming a talented pianist.
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Cinema Paradiso Cinema Paradiso: The Director's Cut Malena The Unknown Woman
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Portland Oregonian Diana Abu-Jaber
The Legend of 1900 is still fresh; like the dawning of a new age, it feels like an awakening.
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Tantalizingly structured to intrigue us right from the start.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
An enchanting, staggeringly beautiful epic at sea, is poetry in motion.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Jean Oppenheimer
On one level it is highly intimate, yet it is also universal, a modern metaphor for the human condition and the precariousness of life itself.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
There is one scene in The Legend of 1900 that is easily worth the price of admission. It finds the ship heeling in an Atlantic storm. In the ballroom Roth plays the piano as it moves and slides in an eerie waltz around the floor.
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Foggy allegories and misty metaphors.
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The sort of movie that both rewards and tries your patience.
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
A painstakingly crafted nonrealist story, which doesn't seem to imply anything beyond what it depicts.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Bruce Fretts
It's usually a good idea to avoid anything billed as ''a fable,'' but The Legend of 1900 offers almost enough merits to warrant an exception
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
This one is often more interesting than involving.
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Its protagonist haven't enough emotional substance to carry them through the long, darkly lit introspective sequences.
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
There's a ton of joy in The Legend of 1900 -- but it's laid on so thick that one ends up more numbed than stirred, overcome by one too many Hallmark moments.
San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
What could have been an insightful, irresistible movie is instead a simple, self-contained fable, pleasing to look at but meaningless
Newsweek Kevin Stuart
Careening wildly between fairy tale and drama it doesn't know when to call it quits.
Variety David Rooney
The material is at heart an intimate allegorical fairy tale about rarefied philosophical concerns.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Dennis Lim
Good-natured but labored, the film clings to its lone gimmick with increasing desperation.
Read Full Review >Film.com Gemma Files
A magic-realistic fable whose lows soon prove as infuriating as its highs are intoxicating.
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
It's a wonderful reminder of the importance of music in the movies.
Miami Herald Curtis Morgan
A muddled fantasy revolving around a really good cruise ship piano player, doesn''t live up to its title.
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Overacted, overdirected, and overcooked in the usual Tornatore manner, but sheer energy and enthusiasm keep it watchable and listenable most of the way through.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
An intriguing concept, a storybook vision life in the great age of trans-Atlantic travel, a fine Ennio Morricone score and a credible performance by Roth.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
A sumptuous ride with breathtaking scenes and a soaring musical score.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
It doesn't strike a single note of authentic emotion.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
The schmaltz is relentless in The Legend of 1900, the newest film from "Cinema Paradiso'' director Giuseppe Tornatore. It comes in waves, it leeches onto every surface and it turns decent actors into sticky-sweet fuzzballs.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 38 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ken gave it a7:
The Good: amazing piano scenes; subtle, ironic humor; Roth is genuine. The Bad: too long, too boring, strangely-paced. This movie has some scenes that are dazzlingly creative, well-written, or beautiful. There are fantastic piano sequences (one of which involves a grand piano being played as it is flying across the floor of a storm-tossed ship), and the quirky, low-key humor will be enjoyed by those patient enough to look for it. As a piano-playing movie, it is fantastic. As a gripping character study, it falls flat. Indeed, "gripping" is a large problem with this movie, for that it was it lacks. One may lament, as I did, how sad it is that there are so many great scenes and moments tied together by long stretches of boredom. I'd highly recommend renting it for a watch-through--some of the scenes are classic!
John C. gave it a10:
Great movie Great music.
Peter M. gave it a10:
The greatest film of all time.
Hedzy S. gave it a9:
One of the greatest movies i've ever seen .. the story was well thought out, the characters are interesting, and the music is absolutely exquisite. In fact, this movie actually inspired me to start taking piano lessons. I am now 16 and have been playing for 6 years, ever since The Journey Of 1900 was released.
Steven Z. gave it a10:
I like this sad movie!
Pat C. gave it a6:
Evidently it is no longer the captain who goes down with the ship. The main character, a stateless person in more than a citizenship sense, presents a paradox of introversion and seclusion uttering distracting and inappropriate profanities. He's just sharp enough to grasp that a cruise ship is an ideal place to evade therapy. Unrealistic at every turn, and a little too quirky and sluggish for most tastes. Let's face it, who among us has ever contemplated mastering the 88-key cigarette lighter? But in its own way the movie is an intriguing journey into a world where personal music alleviates the social isolation of self-imposed limitations. And it correctly asserts that a piano, regarded by most as a versatile musical instrument, can also be an instrument of comprehensive personal power.
Ava gave it a 10:
I really enjoy this movie n the music. It is the great movie i have ever seen.
